Swiss nuclear waste management ‘unsafe’
Although the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate says the country's nuclear power plants have never been safer, there is cause for concern. Its report on 2006 activities says Switzerland's five reactors are safe but the management of their waste is not.
The inspectorate said no serious incidents were recorded in any of the five power plants during 2006 but waste management leaves something to be desired.
Professor Walter Wildi, president of the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Commission, which advises the inspectorate, says the waste regulations are not as thorough as they could be. As one example, there are no limitations on the content of organic matter in waste, but the presence of such matter could have safety implications for long-term disposal solutions of waste produced by the plants.
The Commission thinks that the inspectorate's waste division was unduly influenced by the industry itself and Wildi says it has to be very strict about its independence from nuclear power plant owners and waste producers.
He adds that a staffing shortage within the inspectorate has first to be addressed.
"The waste division has perhaps five or six personswhich is very few when you compare it with Germany or France. This team is just too small. The inspectorate probably needs an external review system that has real influence."
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